Eric Nederlander, scion of the Nederlander Broadway theater clan, was arrested last night for violating an order of protection when he allegedly went into his girlfriend's West Village apartment, pulled Nancy Okun's hair and yelled, "You’re cheating on me." more ›

The husband of a woman who was brutally murdered by a man she sought police protection from is suing the NYPD for $15 million dollars. You may recall, with horror, that the victim, Qian Wu, 46, was allegedly bludgeoned and stabbed to death by 47-year-old suspect Huang Chen, who prosecutors say cut out her lungs and heart after beating her with a hammer 18 times. This happened in Wu's Flushing apartment building in January 2010, as she returned from the store with milk. Days before her death, Wu filed a harassment claim against Chen with the NYPD, who told her she needed to renew a protective order before they could take action. more ›

The grieving relatives of a Queens woman who was fatally shot in the face by her ex-husband say that Giummia Villa had gone to Family Court last week, perhaps in an attempt to get another order of protection from Alexander Figueroa. And Villa's brother said that Figueroa, who later killed himself in his apartment, had dumped Villa when she started to suffer from kidney disease, "The relationship went south when she started getting sick. She went on dialysis for three years. She was losing her physique as she was losing weight." more ›

Yesterday, a man visited an Astoria pharmacy to see his ex-wife. Alexander Figueroa gave Giummia Villa a bouquet of flowers and then shot her in the face. Villa died at Mount Sinai Hospital Queens, and police found Figueroa dead inside his apartment, with a long confession letter. The pair had two sons and Villa previously had an order of protection on Figueroa. Her sister told the Post, "He beat her up just a week and a half ago at her job and told her he would kill her if she didn't go back with him. He was angry she had rejected him." more ›

Even though Mets reliever Francisco Rodriguez was ordered not to contact girlfriend Daian Pena after he allegedly punched her dad during a game at Citifield, K-Rod still texted her 56 times. But he got saved by a Queens judge, who decided not to send him to jail for violating the order of protection but added, "If there any future text messages or communications, I will remand you." more ›

Now that girlfriend Karla Giraldo is no longer "under any coercion or undue influence" of everyone's favorite slasher Hiram Monserrate, the same judge who acquitted Monserrate of felony charges has downgraded the order of protection that has kept the two apart. How romantic! Giraldo said today, "I love him and I want to be with him." more ›

Dominic Barbara, the flamboyant Long Island attorney who has represented Joey Buttafuoco, the guy who sued his wife for a kidney, and Diane Schuler's husband and is known for his appearances on the Howard Stern show, was arrested yesterday for allegedly violating an order of protection his ex-wife has against him. According to Newsday, he violated the order by "sitting down with his ex-wife Leslie, 45, while she was having coffee about 10:30 a.m. Sunday with a man at the Glen Cove Bagel Cafe." Barbara apparently had accused her of stalking him and actually wanted the cops to arrest her. Back in 2008, Howard Stern said that Barbara and his ex-wife wanted him on their side of the divorce dispute, "Let me explain to you and your wife: No one cares!" more ›

According to the Post, a Manhattan divorce judge issued a "whopping 20-year order of protection" against Jay Weiner for renting a Poconos vacation home "on the edge of his ex-wife's [vacation home] back lawn." Justice Matthew Cooper wrote, "A short walk through the woods would bring him to the edge of her back lawn, where he could stand and stare into her home -- under cover of darkness or hidden by the trees -- seeing what she is doing, what she is wearing, who she is with." Weiner, who allegedly mentally abused ex-wife Edie, pointed out they both live blocks away from each other in Kips Bay "If I'm an eighth of a mile away from her everyday in the city, why can't I be a half-mile away from her in the country?" He also explained he rented the vacation home because he came to love the area when they both vacationed there together. more ›

For a victim of domestic abuse, harassment, rape or stalking filing an order of protection (aka restraining order) can be as simple as filling out a form, but actually ensuring that it does anything is another matter. Last year 262,327 orders of protection were issued in NY state. Some, like the one handed to former Sen. Hiram Monserrate, did the job, but statistics aren’t kept on how many failed to be successfully served. One that never did reach its recipient was obtained against David Johnson, a close aide to Gov. Paterson, whose domestic abuse has recently come to the light. Turns out recipients can easily avoid the orders of protection by simply not answering a knock on the door or, as in Johnson’s case, by being out of town. When a judge asked Johsnon’s alleged victim whether she had served him with the papers, she said: “No ma’am, he refused to. He avoided it.” more ›

John McCluskey pleaded not guilty today to second-degree harassment charges for his Hamptons altercation with Rudy Giuliani this weekend, but did go ahead and sign an order of protection saying that he would leave Giuliani and wife Judith Nathan alone. McCluskey did not bring a lawyer to court today, telling reporters, "Why would I dignify this with a lawyer? I think it's so frivolous." Both sides accuse the other of elevating the spat into physical threats—police reports say that when McCluskey was being taken away as he said to cops, "I didn't know that scumbag still has so much power out here...I have the right to speak my mind and tell him how evil he is...You all will regret this." McCluskey might have to think about dignifying the incident with a lawyer pretty soon—he'll need one to show up in his place at the next court date in June. He told a judge that he won't be there since he's leaving the country to film a documentary. more ›

Why did the police arrest the victim of a stabbing? Well, around 2 p.m., a couple got into a fight. The AP reports the man "punched the woman, who then plunged a pen into his shoulder" while on a subway or in the Union Square subway station. When police questioned him, he claimed another man had attacked him When cops figured out what happened--and found out the woman had an order of protection against the man--they arrested him with filing a false police report, assault and criminal contempt. The puncher-turned-stabbing victim is in serious condition at St. Vincent's, and, yes, woman was also arrested. more ›

Police officers shot a man in the shoulder earlier this morning. A woman has complained her ex was violating a protection of order and was armed. WNBC reports, "He fled from police, ducked between several cars and when he emerged it appeared he had a gun," so an officer fired. And according to WABC 7, the victim, who is expected to recover, "reportedly has numerous domestic incident reports lodged against him by this woman and numerous other women." But police did not find a gun. more ›

A woman was shot to death by the ex-boyfriend who had recently violated her order of protection against him. The violence occurred yesterday afternoon at the Aflac Insurance sales office in Bohemia, where William Lynch shot Tiana Stokley dead, but not before shooting the supervisor who tried to protect her. more ›